Splatoon: A Blast From The Past Remake
by The Puzzle Solving Writer
Summary: After finding them frozen in time, the granddaughter of Octavio being forced to give the love of her life and her best friend to the inklings, causing her to boil over, creating bugs that works the same way as the octo-glasses and uses them to control whoever she needs to achieve her goal of being able to live in peace with her friends once again.
1. Chapter 1

_**So… It's been a LONG time since I said I was going to write a remake of this story and I am so sorry for the wait. I have been really lazy or the past… Well… Who knows at point. I'm terribly sorry that it took this long and I'm hoping that this story will get me back into writing instead of putting it off until "later".**_

 _ **Important: I gotta thank Chancezilla for helping me out with this story. If it weren't for him helping me bring this story to life, it would've been swept into the trash bin of 'failed stories'. So thanks so much, Chancezilla!**_

 _ **One more thing: For the people who have read the original "A Blast From The Past", this is going to be very different from that version. So much so to the point where calling it "A Blast From The Past Remake" isn't exactly accurate, but I'm gonna stick with it until I come up with a title.**_

 _ **Anyway! That's enough of me taking up your time. I hope you enjoy!**_

 _Chapter 1:_

It was a cool summer's night. The moonlight shone down on the crystal clear ocean water as Cuttlefish sat in his boat, looking at a map. "Hmmm… We're getting close, squiddo!" He exclaimed happily.

Agent Three, a male inkling with light blue tentacles and orange eyes, looked at him and shot him a smile as he kept their shields replenished by turning a crank on the side of the motor.

"If I'm reading this correctly…" Cuttlefish started as he grabbed a pair of binoculars. "The island should be just over there…" He pointed forward before looking through his binoculars. "Aha!" He said as he spotted the island. "Full speed ahead, bucko!"

Agent Three saluted him and smiled before doing what he was told and kicking it up to full speed.

Later…

The duo pulled up next to the island and docked the boat, making sure it wasn't gonna float off into the sea, and disembarked for the ruins. "Careful, boyo…" Cuttlefish warned as he passed him a backpack full of tools, ancient writing decrypters, and other things they need. "I got a bad feelin' 'bout this place…"

Agent 3 nodded and pulled his Heroshot out as he followed Cuttlefish, watching everything very intently. He didn't have a good feeling about being there either.

His fear was then justified when Cuttlefish held his arm out. "Shhh."

In front of them was a group of elite octolings. Each one was armed and looked like they were going to the same place that they were headed to, the ruins of a building left over from when ancients walked the Earth.

Agent Three then aimed his gun at them, ready to spring out and splat them all. But Cuttlefish held his arm out yet again. "No!" He whispered. "Let them pass."

The small army of octolings marched towards the ruins and the two soon realized that the Octarians know full well what is hidden beyond the old, worn down steel doors. Then, from the middle of the group, an octoling with blood red tentacles and a green diamond-like shape on her chestplate bawled. "GET IN THERE NOW! I DON'T PAY YOU TO SIT AROUND ALL DAY!"

All of the elites seem shaken. "Y-YES, MA'AM!" They all said in unison before bolting inside.

While the elites looked around, The blood red tentacled octoling scanned the treeline, however she didn't see Cuttlefish and Agent Three watching them from afar.

Cuttlefish studied her face closely when he realized something and gasped. "Wait… Those oddly coloured eyes… Crazed smile… T-the symbol on her chestplate… B-boyo… This ain't good."

Agent Three just looked at him with a confused expression on his face, he had no idea who she was or what importance she held, other than that she was a higher up to the elites.

Cuttlefish then turned to face him. "That's Octavio's granddaughter… Octavia."

An elite then ran out of the building. "P-princess Octavia! We've found two separate pieces of ancient writing on the machines!"

Octavia grinned. "Take me to them."

The elite nodded and started leading her inside.

"Let's move up, boyo! They all seem to be going in." Cuttlefish said before walking out without waiting for an answer.

Agent Three then quickly shot up and chased after him and the two took cover behind one of the walls. Then then started listening closely to what was being said.

Octavia walked up to the pods and grinned yet again. "Ahh… Such amazing pieces of technology!" She placed a hand on the glass and looked at the human inside. He was a male with brownish-blackish hair wearing a pair of black half-rim seeing glasses and a hoodie. "Surely this is our key to victory."

"Princess, what about the writing? You can read ancient writing, correct?" One of the elites asked her as they pointed at some writing on the pod.

She pushed her out of the way and read it aloud. " _Code: 28576_ " She paused. "No idea why anyone would leave a code out like this, or how it managed to stay there for cod only knows how long, but it's very convenient." Octavia then walked over to the panel connecting the two pods, typed the code in, and pushed the big red button.

Everyone stood back as the pod's doors slowly opened. "Wooooow…" They all said in awe.

In the right pod was also a male. He had a long, green trench coat on as well as green hair. He opened his eyes and calmly walked out. "Hello…. Uh…." he looked a bit confused when he seen an army of what looked like humans with tentacles staring back at him. "W-what the-

Before he could speak another word, the male with the glasses fell forward and landed flat on his face. This jolted him awake and he shot up, his glasses somehow staying on his face and in one piece. "Ow. I think I-" He froze with his mouth open when he seen the octolings as well.

"I'm gonna have to ask you both to please not freak out. We understand you are scared and confused about what we are and what is currently happening, however our princess will explain everything and answer all questions you have." The elite nearest to them explained.

The male in the trenchcoat nodded. "Gotcha. But before we start, I gotta tell you that Zack over there is a jokester." He pointed to the boy with the glasses. "He won't play pranks on you or anything, but he'll try and make you laugh, y'know? So if he says something off, take it with a pinch of salt. He uh… He loves to joke around, even at bad times."

Zack then looked at him. "Buddy, we just crawled out of a glorified refrigerator, I don't have any jokes yet."

The trench coat male looked at Octavia. "See what I mean?"

Octavia could only giggle, which left all of the Elites stunned. They had never heard her giggle before, only the orders that came from her, telling them what to do. "Well then." She started. "I am Princess Octavia. This place is not safe, so if you'd be so kind to follow me, I'd happily bring you both somewhere safe." She looked at them with a friendly yet crazed stare.

"Uh… Sure, m-miss." The male in the trench coat said. The stare oc Octavia cutting through him like a knife, causing him to feel tense. "You can call me "Chance" by the way."

"Well then. Chance, Zack, follow me." She turned around and started walking off with her elites.

Before he could take a step, Chance pulled Zack to the side. "Hey, Zack. Listen, I don't have a good feeling about her. She seems… Crazy."

Zack put a hand on his shoulder. "Buddy, you've had to deal with me for over a year. I'm pretty sure you're immune to craziness now."

Chance shook his head. "No, I mean, like… Worse than you. WAAAY worse than you."

Zack looked away. "Sheesh. That's scary to think of." He then looked back at him. "Welp, only one way to find out. Follow her and pray to god she doesn't kill us."

Chance sighed. "Very reassuring, Zack. Very reassuring."

An elite then opened the door and poked her head in. "Are you two coming today or tomorrow?"

"Sorry!" Chance replied before both him and Zack followed her out of the building and into a forest.

Meanwhile, Agent Three and Cuttlefish where making a mad dash back to their boat. "Hurry, Bucko! We gotta get back and let the others know what happened before it's too late!"

They quickly tossed all of their gear into the boat, hopped in after they got the boat freed, and sped off into the neverending sea, which was still showing the stars dancing overhead on the calm coastal water.

 _ **Thanks so much for reading the first chapter. Assuming I don't get lazy again, the next part should be out soon!**_

 _ **Again, massive thanks to Chancezilla for helping me bring this story to life!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2:_

Three months later….

Octavia stared out of her bedroom window at the protesters below. They all chanting "WE WANT KING OCTAVIO! WE WANT KING OCTAVIO!"

She made two tight fists. "I've been putting it off for months now…" She said to herself. "Why on Earth did the agents leak the trade information to the public!? None of this would be happening right now!"

Then, two quiet knocks came from the door. "P-Princess Octavia?" A female's voice asked. "May I come in?"

"It's open!" She snapped and drew her curtains shut.

An elite octoling from the mission to rescue Chance and Zack then stepped in, holding her wrist with one hand. "P-Princess Octavia, I know I'm not in any p-position to tell you what to do…" She paused as she tried to find the words, Octavia's glare sending her into a panic. "B-but I highly suggest, f-for your safety, to accept the deal…"

Octavia then started walking towards her. "So… You want me to give in!? Show weakness!?"

She shook her head. "N-no, Princess Octavia! It's just…" She chose her next words very carefully, because Octavia was like a thunder cloud looming over her at this point. "S-should they get weapons, your guards wouldn't be a-able to keep them back…"

Octavia felt so enraged that she wanted to grab the nearest thing and just throw it. But she knew full well the elite was right. **If they get in… There's no hope for me… And they know Zack and Chance are the problem, so they'll… Oh cod…** She could only sigh. "M-move out of my way…" She pushed the elite out of the way and walked downstairs.

On her way down, she ran into Chance. "Hey, Octavia." He said, smiling slightly in a failed attempt to calm the clearly distressed octoling.

"O-oh, Chance! Finally! Please get Zack and meet me outside my room. I'll be there in ten minutes." She continued down the stairs.

Chance nodded. He knew in the back of his mind what it was about. A deep sigh was let out before he walked out of the wooden double doors. The second he was outside, he could see a group of guards by the door trying to keep the protesters away from the gate. Zack was a part of that group.

He ran down to the gate and seen that while the guards were pushing the protester's hands away from their guns, which is what they were reaching for, Zack decided to take a different approach.

Every hand that tried to reach for Zack, he'd smack them using a plastic spoon. "BACK, PEOPLE, BACK!" He smacked more of their hands. "God, this is like playing Whack-A-Mole!"

"Zack!" Chance called out to him. "What are you doing!?"

Zack looked back at him and smiled. "Hey buddy! C'mon, join in, I'm playing real life Whack-A-Mole but with people's hands." He then pulled another plastic spoon out of his pocket and held it out to him.

Chance shot him a confused look. "I… don't wanna know…" he replied. "Anyway, stop fooling around! Octavia wants to talk with us for a minute."

Zach whacked one more before pausing. He turned around slowly and nodded. "Why didn't you say that? C'mon!" He sprinted back inside. "Where's she gonna meet us?"

"By her room!" Chance replied, passing him and going up the stairs.

Zack chuckled. "Probably about the violent Mardi gras outside."

Chance then leaned up against the wall and sighed. "Yeah… Man, I don't have a good feeling about this."

"Me neither, Chance… Me neither." Zack replied.

Before another word could be uttered, Octavia slowly walked in. She just looked at them and sighed. "I…"

Zack then pulled her into a hug, an actual serious look on his face. Sure, he seems like someone who would rather make someone laugh so hard that they cry then to sit down and talk about feelings, but even though he likes to joke a lot, he knows when to be able to sit down and be a shoulder to cry on. Especially with Octavia.

Octavia just hugged him back. "I-I'm sorry, guys… I… I had to." She took a deep breath. "I-I just traded you both for Octavio…"

They both knew it was coming. Zack and Chance tried their hardest not to be blown away from it, since they had already anticipated it, but hearing the words leave her mouth was almost enough to break their rock solid faces. "You did the best you could, Octavia." Chance reassured her. "It's not your fault."

"The agents are the ones to blame." Zack added, pulling back a bit to look her in the eyes. "And besides, you kept them at bay for months! Even after the news was widespread and when more protesters were standing outside than there were people living in New York, you didn't give in!"

Octavia tried to find both her words and her emotions. She didn't even know how she felt about the situation, other than that being wrapped in Zack's arm was enough to make any situation seem like a walk on the beach. "Yeah… I… I guess you're right…" She then shook her head and moved away from Zack, trying to get a clearer mind. "But… I…" She looked down.

"We'll be back soon, Octavia. I know it." Chance replied, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Octavia sniffed but tried to hide it by smiling slightly. "Are… Are y-"

The exact same elite octoling from before then ran around the corner. "Princess Octavia!" She cried. "They're ready and on their way."

"What!? Already!?" Octavia yelled, having been caught completely off guard.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm very sorry." The elite looked down. "I tried my hardest to make them wait for as long as possible, but…"

"Get out of my sight." Octavia demanded and the elite complied. She then sighed heavily. "G-get everything you need…" She hurried off.

"Wait! Octavia!" Zack called out after her, but he knew it was of no use. She was already gone. He let out a hefty sigh. "I got a bad feeling about this… It's like trying to fight a bear using a boombox, it just doesn't go well."

Chance just looked at him weirdly. "Why would you be fighting a bear with a boombox?"

"I really don't know." He replied. "But either way, it's a bad idea, just like this. But only in this situation we got no other option…"

"I get your message and I agree, but that was poorly worded… Anyway, let's get our things. We don't wanna keep anyone waiting." Chance replied and walked down the hall, entering a room.

After about half an hour, Octavia and Agent Four stood face to face. She had long yellow tentacles and yellow eyes. She then yanked Octavio into view. "So...You got those two, I got Octavio…"

Octavia then cleared her throat and, after a bit of tension, thy eventually settled on an agreement so that neither one of them tried to screw over the other.

It killed Octavia to watch as they left and stood next to the inkling. "Welp…" The girl said. "Thanks! We'll be going now." She smiled at Zack and Chance, wanting to make them feel that everything was okay and that they'll have it better once they settle down in Inkopolis.

Then, before anymore words could be spoken, Agent Four made them all turn around and start walking, trying her best to make small talk with them.

However, with every step they took, Octavia's urge to run and take them back grew intense, however she knew that it would only end up in the worst way possible. So, powerless to stop it, she watched as the gates closed behind the trio as they left the palace, the once near rioting protesters now turned into a sea of excited citizens, hugging, smiling, a few people were even singing.

However, Octavia didn't feel the same, inside her head, a wicked idea started to form, which in turn caused her to make her signature crazy smile, something she hasn't done since she met Zack and Chance. **That's it agents…** She thought to herself. **THIS is past the line, and I WILL get revenge...**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Agent Four, Chance, and Zack all walked across the hills of Octo Valley, no one spoke much throughout the trip through Octopolis, half in fear of each other and half of in fear of the Octarians. That was, until, they got out of the city and started walking along the hills. "So uh… You two aren't very talkative, huh?" Agent Four asked, trying to make some small talk.

"Well…" Chance started. "I'm really surprised that Zack hasn't told you more jokes than you can shake a stick at already." He shot a playful smile.

Zack just looked at him. "No offense to either one of you, especially you miss." He started. "But we just got taken away from our home for the past three months by someone who we were told is basically a spawn of satan. Kinda hard to be normal in this situation, even if she was lying through her teeth, y'know what I mean."

"I had a feeling she would fill your head with nonsense…" Agent Four let out a heavy sigh. "I'm honestly afraid to ask what else she told you."

"You… Really don't wanna know." Chance added with a slight sigh. "Anyway, what's your side to the story?" He asked, curious as to what the 'enemy' had to say about events in their history.

"Oh, you mean… The war?" She asked, looking back at them.

"Yeah. I wanna hear what happened to you guys when all of this started happening." Chance told her.

"Oooh, I love stuff like this! I'll listen in too." Zack added in excitement. "History is always interesting! Especially massive wars."

"Well…" She started to go on about the Great Turf War, Cuttlefish's heroic actions, the reason for the war, and her personal opinion on the war and who was in the right and wrong. She tried not to be biased, but she had to paint the inklings in a better picture so that Zack and Chance didn't believe they were monsters like they've been told.

"Wow…" Was all Zack could reply with, he couldn't even make up a joke to go along with it.

"Yeah…" Was all that she could reply with. "So… Whether you two believe it or not, that's our side to the story.: She then turned around on one heel and continued walking with them. "The shack is right there." She explained, pointing down from hill onto the floating platforms below.

"Turns out we share the same opinions then." Chance added with a tiny smile. "Well, for the most part."

Meanwhile, while Chance was talking like nothing was out of the ordinary, Zack's jaw hit the ground. He was shocked, he had no idea what to say. She just introduced the shack and didn't even touch the floating platforms to them like it was an everyday item. "Uh… How are you so calm over those things!?" He asked her. "Sorry if this comes out the wrong way, but you just introduced the shack, and didn't touch the floating platforms! You did the equivalent of talking about how good your TV is, but have the antenna on the roof inside of a gramophone, like, you just completely skipped over it!"

She looked a little confused. "We've had them for years now, plus you should've been introduced to them during your time in Octopolis. Your kind didn't have any floating platforms?"

"A better question is: 'How in god's name did you get TV antenna from floating platforms?'" Chance asked Zack.

"It's the first thing that came to my mind." Zack replied. "Anyway, how do we get over there?"

"Easy." She replied and smiled. "Squid jump." Agent Four then turned into a squid and flew off into the distance.

Zack just stood there with his mouth left hung open yet again while Chance showed no sign of surprise. Zack looked at him like he had three heads. "Why and how are you not surprised!?"

Chance looked back at him after Agent Four landed and explained. "Well, while you were spending all your time with Octavia in her room, me and her group of scientists' side project was to find a way to make 'super jumping', as they called it, safer and less of a strain with all the armour the octolings wear."

Zack started to turn red. "Don't say it like that, man. It sounds like we did some... things... even though we didn't. You know exactly what happened in there."

Chance chuckled. "I know, just wanted to get you going a bit." He smiled.

Zack then changed the subject. "But since when could they do that!? I knew they could change forms, but this!? Jump from a mile away!?"

"Since..." Chance thought for a moment. "Five to seven thousand years ago."

Agent Four then jumped back. "Aren't you two coming?"

"Sorry miss, but we can't jump like that. We don't have the ability to go into 'squid form' like you." Chance explained. "Is there any way for us to be able to walk there?"

Agent Four nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I think so. Just follow me and we should be fine."

This time, as they walked across the hills, Zack thought about something. **Even though, I know Chance didn't mean anything by it… But she's been on my mind the whole time… Especially that last night. I think she knew what she was gonna do the next day…**

-Flashback-

Octavia sat on the edge of her bed, her right hand balled up into a fist with her left hand covering it, she pressed it to her lips as Zack had his arm wrapped around her. '"I… Thank you, Zack." Octavia spoke with a shaky voice. "These past two months, I… I've been able to tell you everything, and I… With you and Chance here with me, I… I feel... " She started smiling. "H-happy... I-I can't remember the last time I-I've felt this happy."

Zack stroked her tentacles in a way he knew would calm her down as he smiled as well. "We're so glad to see you like this, Octavia. Me and him were talking about it earlier today… We've never been happier either."

Octavia looked up at him, her eyes starting to get glassy. "But… The inklings… T-the thought of them-"

"Don't." Zack cut her off. "Don't think it about it."

Before another word could be said, an octoling knocked on the door. "P-Princess Octavia?" A male octoling called from the other side, clearly sounding scared out of his wits. "Z-Zack has to leave now. You kn-"

"Yes! Yes! I know!" She snapped, the man soon running from the door.

Zack then sighed and stood up with Octavia. "Welp…" He spoke and started to walk towards the bedroom door. "Guess I'll see you again tomo-"

"Wait!" Octavia cried and held his hands, spinning him around. "Zack, I... I…" She then took a deep breath. What she was about to do took up every bit of courage she had. She then started to move in closer to him.

Realizing what she was doing, Zack paused for a moment before leaning in as well.

-End of flashback-

 **No, Zack…** He thought. **Don't think about her now… It's not-**

Chance then looked back and interrupted his thoughts. "Zack? You spaced out again."

Zack shook his head violently. "O-oh! Sorry." He smiled. "I'm alright now."

Chance looked at him suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow. He knew that there was something was up with him, but he decided to keep it hidden. For the meantime.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4:_

Octavia was on her knees, her chin level to her dresser. She just stayed there, staring at the photo of her, Chance, and Zack. "I wish…" She held the photo. "That you both were here… with me. I'd be in Zack's arms as he and Chance would tell me jokes, or watch TV, or anything!"

Octavia then took a deep breath before placing the picture back on her dresser and standing up, an idea coming to her mind. "I got it! I know what I must do…"

After scurrying out of her room and up the second flight of stairs, she waited outside two giant oak doors. On the other side, Octavio could be heard.

She took yet another deep breath before pushing open the doors. "G-Gramps!" She ran in and almost tackled him to the ground, pulling him into a hug.

Octavio smiled, but only slightly. "Hello, Octavia. Glad you took the time to properly say 'hello' since I returned earlier today, I was very busy and still am."

"Um… gramps? Do I have permission to take the top scientists for some important research?" Octavia held her hands together around her lower back and wiggled her foot a little, trying to come across as cute and innocent.

Octavio was a bit skeptical, seeing as how unusual Octavia was acting, but in the end, he decided to let Octavia go through with her plan.

Octavia then started jumping and giggling with pure ecstasy. Repeatedly saying "Thank you, grandpa!" Over and over and over again until she left the room where she let out a sigh and continuing to part two of her mission, organize the team.

After yet another long trudge through the mansion, Octavia finally came to the bottom floor. "Okay, people!" She exclaimed. "You all got brand new project! Stop EVERYTHING else and lets get focused!"

Then, the whole lab erupted into chaos. People desperately trying to save samples, wash things out, etc. while Octavia's signature psychotic look started to take shape, and her laugh soon followed.

The thoughts of what she was about to unleash were enough to make her feel just as happy as ever… no… She couldn't. Not without Zack and Chance.

After about a minute of laughing, Octavia pulled herself together and got the head scientists together in a room. "Okay…" She started. "What I'm about to tell you never leaves this laboratory, got it!?"

The all nodded. "Y-yes, Princess!"

"Okay, so, your job is to create an army of small bugs that have the same function as our hypnoshades. We're gonna need one for every person in Inkopolis." Octavia explained as she looked around at the stunned scientists' faces.

"Um… Princess Octavia… If we do somehow manage to create this amazing idea, we would need factories in order to-"

Octavia cut her off. "Look. I'll get that all set up for you after your work is done. Your work is to create the bug, I will produce the bug, and we'll all be happy."

"If you say so, Princess." The same scientist said with a nod. "We'll get started right away and we'll let you know when we're done."

"Good." Octavia grinned. "Make it as quick as possible." She then started to walk out of the room. "I'm sure you all know what you're doing and you'll all be able to complete it before the deadline."

All of them looked confused. "Um… When's the deadline?"

Octavia could only giggle. "That's a secret that only I know." She gave a playful yet ink curling wink before happily skipping upstairs.

All the scientists looked around at each other. No one knew how much time they had, so they all started rushing. Each one working at their maximum efficiency.

Octavia then walked back up into her room and hugged the picture. "I got everything ready for you, guys." She spoke, talking to the picture. She then laid down in bed while clutching it and grinning like an idiot.

Meanwhile…

Zach and Chance sat on the couch outside of the shack. They decided to go to the shack instead of the cabin because it would be a lot easier for the agents to talk in peace.

While they sat outside, Agents One, Two, and Four talked about what to do. "Do you think they're trustworthy, Agent Four?" Agent Two asked. "I don't want to tell them anything if they're just gonna blabber everything out like a child."

"I'm… Not too sure. We should get to know them a little bit better before we start telling them stuff." Lemon suggested.

Agent Two nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." She replied, looking out the window at the two, still unable to believe her eyes at what she was staring at.

"Thank cod we managed to get them before the Octarians used those glasses on them. Trust me when I say it's um… It's not that fun." Agent One said.

"I think I'm gonna talk to the one closest to us." Lemon said, pointing to Chance. "He seems pretty interesting and we have a few things in common. Well, that I know of from our little walk here."

"What about the other one?" Agent Two asked.

"He… Likes to joke around." Lemon explained. "Callie, I'd say you'd be able to talk with him and have a fun conversation."

Agent one smiled. "Okay. What about Marie?"

Lemon looked at Agent Two. "Keep a close eye on everything. We will have out headsets on, just in case things go south. Also, see if there are any octarians around that would want to get them back."

Agent Two nodded in understanding. "I'll get on that." She said. "Get out there, you two. Oh! And remember." She got closer to them. "If they're not enemies, don't make them enemies." After saying that, she turned around and walked downstairs into the secret part of the shack.

Lemon then stood up, Agent One soon following. "Welp." Lemon started, grabbing the knob. "Here goes nothing." She then opened the door and the two walked out. "Hey guys!" She smiled. "Sorry for the wait!"

"That's okay." Chance replied as Zack sat back down.

"So uh… Chance, right?" Lemon asked him.

He nodded. "Yup! And that's Zack."

"Hey!" Zack called out, waving his hands in the air.

Lemon pointed to Callie. "This is… Agent One. Chance, I'm gonna take you to a place that's not even five minutes away, we'll talk there. Zach, you two are gonna talk here." Then, it hit her. **Wait… That's probably REALLY suspicious… Uhh… Think of something, Lemon, think of something! Aha!** She thought to herself before explaining. "We wanna get to know you two a bit better. I told her about what you both are like and I'd say that this way, we have the most in common. If that makes sense."

"I understand what you're saying. Trust me, I've known Zack long enough to tell what people are saying from absolute gibberish." Chance replied jokingly.

Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's accurate. I mean, most of my sentences just involve some stupid comparison. Like lamp shades and helicopters."

Chance looked back at him. "Lamp shades and…. Actually I won't ask." He chuckled. "Anyway." He pushed himself off of the couch and walked over to the duo. "Nice to meet you, Agent One."

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled.

Chance smiled back before turning his focus to Lemon. "Welp, Lemon. Lead the way."

Lemon then lead him into the sewer while Callie sat down next to Zack. However, before she jumped in after him, she and Callie shared a nod.

 _ **I'm so sorry for how long this took to write! A mixture of writer's block and pure laziness/distractions got the best of me… Again.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5:_

After taking so many twists and turns throughout the sewer, Chance and Lemon came up to a wall. "Here it is." Lemon exclaimed. "Can you please look away?"

"Okay." Chance smiled and followed her orders, turning around so as not to face her.

"Thank you." She then started pressing on a certain spot on the wall until, eventually, a secret hidden door opened up to reveal a room that was filled with a variety of different things used to make things such as weapons, agent equipment, etc. "I remember you said something about being able to create amazing pieces of technology?" She asked him.

Chance, still facing away from her, nodded. "Yup. Well, kinda. I worked slash helped in the Octarian's research and development lab, so… Yeah. I guess you can say that." He explained. "Also, can I turn around now? Or…?"

She chuckled. "Oh yeah! I forgot, sorry. Yeah, you can turn around now."

Chance turned around and froze. "Wow…" He said, stepping inside. "You Agents managed to hide this in the sewer? Amazing!"

Lemon nodded. "Yeah. You have no idea how long this took for us to build, AND hiding it from both the Inkopolis government and Octarians."

"I can't even imagine…" Chance replied, taking a quick look around. "So uh...Why'd you bring me here?"

Lemon smiled and pulled out a box filled with different electronic parts and what looked like a remote control car. **Now… Let's see how he feels about this little story.** "So um… I brought you here to help me fix this toy."

"Toy?" He asked before smiling. "Sure! Pass it over."

She handed him the car and the remote. "It belongs to my little brother." She lied. "He tried to drive it, but he accidentally crashed it and it hasn't worked since. I've taken it apart, looked at it, replaced things, but I don't know what happened."

"Awww." Chance replied sadly. "That's terrible! I'm gonna get at it right away." He grabbed a screwdriver, took the top off the car, and took a look at the insides. "Ahah!" Chance exclaimed. "I think I found out what the problem is."

Lemon gasped. "Really!?"

Chance nodded. "Yeah. Turns out the axle is off a tiny bit." He then reached in with his hand and, after about five minutes of fiddling with it, he eventually got the axle back in place. "There. That should've fixed it." He screwed the top back on the car, put the batteries in, and passed the remote to Lemon. "Here. You have the first test." He smiled.

"Okay." She took the controller from his hands and pressed up on the left stick and this time, sure enough, the car started moving. Lemon was happy as could be, she jumped up and hugged him. "Thank you so much, Chance! My brother's gonna be so happy!" **Just as I thought.** She thought to herself. **He passed with flying colours. Thank cod.** She was both mentally and physically grinning.

He smiled again and hugged her back. "Is there anything else you need me to fix for you?"

"Anything else?" She repeated after him. "Uh… I think I do, actually." She looked around the room, inside of boxes, and on every shelf that was there until she eventually found it. **Now, for a project that is truly 100% honest.** She placed an old Splattershot Jr. that came all the way from the Great Turf War on the table. "This is the Captain's." She explained. "Remember how we told you two how he's a veteran?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I remember. You told me about those amazing war stories."

"Yeah." She confirmed. "Well, this was the gun he used throughout the whole war. Now, having not been in use for about one hundred years, and having through the Great Turf War, it uh… Well, let's just say it's not in the best shape."

"I see." Chance said, looking over the weapon. "He truly went to hell and back, huh?"

"Hell and back isn't a strong enough phrase for what that man went through." Lemon spoke. "But anyway, we're getting off topic. Basically, me and the agents wanna surprise him with this for his next birthday. We don't want it cleaned or anything because he always said he'd rather have it dirty then clean, but we do want it shooting again."

Chance nodded. "I think I can give it a SHOT."

Lemon chuckled and facepalmed.

Chance started to chuckled as well. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself there… Anyway, I'll get started."

"Okay, I need to go into another room a bit down the sewer. I'll be right back." Lemon explained as she started to walk out the door.

Chance nodded. "Okay."

Lemon then shut the door and went around the corner. Once she was far enough away, she pulled out an earpiece. "Agent Two? Come in Agent Two!"

Agent Two's voice then came over the mic. "I'm here, Agent Four. How's everything looking with Chance?"

"Well…" Agent Four started. "He's certainly a character. He's incredible with technology and has a kind soul. He's trustworthy."

Agent Two took her word. Even though she hasn't known Agent Four as long as she's known Agent Three, she could tell just by her voice if she was confident or not. "Perfect." She replied. "Wanna bring him back now or keep talking with him for awhile?"

"I think I'll stay here for awhile." Agent Four replied, checking over her shoulder to make sure that Chance wasn't close behind. "Did you talk to Callie yet?"

"Not yet. I'm going to try and contact her now." Agent Two explained.

Agent Four nodded. "Alright. Well, I gotta get going before Chance starts getting suspicious. I'll be back in about an hour." She then pulled her earpiece out of her ear and walked back over to wall. She did the same combination for the wall and walked into the room.

 _ **I am very sorry for how long this took! This took much longer than I expected! Laziness and a lack of motivation have come back to haunt me YET AGAIN. I promise this next chapter will not take a month**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6:_

The sound of heavy boots hitting the floor got louder and louder as the team of scientists rushed to grab their finished prototype of what Octavia demanded. Each one had a lump in their throat as they waited, hands by their sides.

Not long after, Octavia came down the stairs and entered the room. "Well?" She asked, a stern look on her face and one hand on her hip. "Is it finished?"

They all nodded. "Yes, princess Octavia." One of the leading scientists said. "We have completed the prototype of your bug. We have done tests and we can confirm it to be in full working order."

Octavia chuckled as a sadistic grin swept over her face. "Yes… Perfect. Do you think you will be able to produce these on a large scale?" She walked behind her and got close to the back of her head.

The scientist, in complete terror and horror, had a shaky voice when she said. "Y-yes, princess! Should we get st-started now?"

She nodded and patted her on the shoulder. "Yes. _I_ will get it started." She emphasized on the 'I' as she grabbed the bug and admired it in her hand. "Amazing work you have done…"

All the scientists bowed a bit. "Thank you princess." They all said in unison.

Octavia then turned on one heel and started walking out. "Very well. You are all free to go back to… Whatever you were doing." As she was walking up the stairs, she took a moment to stop and look at the same scientist and shoot her signature insane smile before continuing to ascend up the stairs.

After Octavia was gone, the scientist passed out and hit the floor with a loud _THUD_.

With the agents…

The trio of agents all had a meeting. Agent Two was at the head of the table and Agents One and Four were sitting on the sides. "So…" Agent Two started. "We have all come to the conclusion that Chance is perfect for our agent shenanigans, but… Agent One… You haven't told us anything at all about Zack." She stated, using two of her fingers to hold her temples. "Well, other than the fact that he's the biggest clown on Earth."

Agent One giggled. "I totally forgot the mission! He just wouldn't stop making jokes after he got comfortable with me!"

Both of the agents sighed. "Well." Agent Four spoke up. "Maybe you could take him for a walk in Inkopolis or something. Wear a secret microphone so we can hear everything that happens and we'll remind you through your earpiece if you're getting off topic."

Agent One nodded and rose from her seat. "Okay… Where should we go?"

"Anywhere." Agent Two spoke up. "Just talk to him normally. Chance said he's nervous around new people, so maybe being around so many unfamiliar faces would make him less of a clown."

"That's actually pretty smart, Agent Two. Um, no offense." Agent Four replied.

"Okay, it's settled. I'll go now." Agent One claimed as she started to walk out of the room. "Be ready."

The duo nodded before they all went to do their part.

Down in Octo Valley…

Octavia held the first bug that was produced in a factory in her hand. She grinned from ear to ear as she thought about everything that little bug could cause. On a mass scale, the entirety of Inkopolis could be remotely controlled. She could turn an entire city full of millions of people into a city full of mindless zombies.

However, she wasn't thinking of any of that. Her mind was filled with thoughts of being happy again. Being able to laugh and actually mean it. She'd hand over the mind controlled inklings to her grandfather and let her keep her spoils. If her grandfather went against it, she wouldn't mind axing him off.

Octavia sighed as she placed it on her dresser. The same dresser that she seemed to be glued to. The same dresser that housed the picture of her and her friends. "Soon…" She replied, looking out the window. "With production underway, you'll both be back soon… I guarantee it." She then picked up a picture of a younger Octavia with her arm around a younger Marina, with Marina doing the same. They both were making a peace sign with their fingers as their elementary training program school sat behind them. "Maybe even you too, Marina…"

Then, a knock came from her door. "U-um… Princess Octavia?" A female's shaky voice questioned her. "Y-your grandfather would l-like to speak to you."

Octavia sighed before calling out. "Tell him I'm on my way!"

After hearing the sound of the octoling's boots hit the floor, Octavia got up, brushed her knees off, and walked out the door.

Everyone in the hallway said a simple "Good day." or "Hello, Princess." or something else along those lines. She just gave them a nod and kept going until she made it to her father's throne room, where she knocked on the door a bit too hard. **Shit! Tone it down, Octavia.** She thought to herself.

"Come in!" She heard her grandfather boom from the other side. "It's open!"

Octavia did as she was told and stepped in. "You wanted to see me, gramps?" She had a feeling where this was gonna go, so she slowly moved her hand down to her belt so that if he had to say what she thought he would, she could pull her knife from her belt and... Inherit the throne in a "tragic accident".

"Thanks to you, your project will give us the ability to turn all of Inkopolis into our subject." He explained with an emotionless stare.

Octavia nodded. "And…?" She knew that there was an 'and' to this somewhere.

"AND, because of you, we are going to be rolling in dept!" His face went from expressionless to enraged in the matter of a millisecond. "So, because of your inability to even think of our budget in this little stunt, you are hereby forbidden to assist the project from this point on!"

"WHAT!?" She screamed.

He nodded. "That's right! Now, leave my throne room! I need to find a way to fix this mess!" He made a shooing motion with his hand as he said this.

Octavia had enough. She shot her hand down to reach for her knife when something caught her eye. A faint shimmer in the dark behind Octavio. She remembered that shimmer. **Heh.** She thought. **Chance always said his Neo Octoling Armour was incredibly shiny. He must have guards here. I only have a knife and I won't get very far with just that. Ugh. It'll have to wait.**

Not wanting to seem suspicious, she acted like she was adjusting her belt. "Fine…" She replied before storming out and slamming the door, nearly putting a crack in it. She let out a sigh and started her trek back to her room when a thought hit her. **Wait a minute…. He's the king!** She stopped in her tracks. **If the problem was that serious, he could just cancel it! THAT SLIMY BASTARD! HE KICKED ME OFF THE TEAM SO HE COULD GET ALL THE GLORY!**

She could feel her ink starting to boil in her body as her hands naturally became fists. Then, in her head, a plan started brewing. "Ohhhhh I'll show you, old man!" She muttered to herself as she furiously marched into her room, locked the door, and started up her laptop.

Her attention then shifted to the bug that sat on her desk and her signature twisted grin slid back on to her face again.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7:_

Callie slipped on her disguise and looked at herself in the mirror. "Stay focused, Callie." She said to herself. "You can do this. Just stay focused on being calm and having a normal conversation and don't ask for any jokes. Try and be serious." She took a deep breath before walking out of the bathroom and out of the shack to see Zack lying down on the couch outside, fast asleep.

"Great start…" She muttered before giving him a little shake. "Zack? Zack, wake up."

Zack, now stunned from being so tired, opened his eyes and looked at her. "Mmm? Who're you…?"

"It's me, Callie." She explained. "I have to wear this so no one recognizes me. C'mon, get up. We need to move." She made a motion with her hand so Zack would follow her.

Instead of standing up and walking like a normal person, Zack just flopped on the ground. However, this caused the inner part of his ankle to hit off of a coffee table that was recently added to the living"room".

The pain of hitting his bone off of something that solid with so much momentum certainly shot him awake. "Ahhhhh…." He wheezed as he held his ankle. "That's gonna leave a mark…"

Callie, not having bones, was confused as to why he was in so much pain. But she just decided that it would be best to not ask right now.

After about a minute or so, Zack was finally able to stand up normally. "Anyway…" He said, shaking his foot. "What're we doing now?"

"Well…" Callie said. "I wanted to take you on a little walk around Inkopolis." She smiled innocently. "Y'know, get you used to the big city before we find you and Chance a place to stay."

"Sure." Zack replied. "I'm not used to big cities anyway."

Callie grabbed his hand and started to cheerfully pull him along. "Yay! This is gonna be fun!"

But inside the shack, Marie listened closely to every word the two were saying from underneath everything. "I suppose I should check on Lemon and Chance…" She pressed a button on her computer and she was able to watch Lemon and Chance from a camera that was installed inside of the shack by Lemon herself.

They were sitting down and watching TV together, casually talking to each other with the occasional joke being thrown out. Nothing special. "Nice work, Agent Four. Keep him stalled." Marie said to herself before changing her view back to Zack and Callie.

About 10 minutes later, Zack and Callie happily walked through the streets of Inkopolis, taking moments to go window shopping when walking in the Square. However, while Callie was having an amazing time, Zack was… Having a different time. The square was packed with inklings and, since Zack was a human, he got A LOT of stares. "Wow, this uh… There's a lot of people here…" He nervously pulled on his shirt collar.

Callie nodded. "Mmhmm. Yup, we're in the centre of the city!" She smiled.

"O-ohh… Great..." Was all Zack could reply with as he tried to pretend that there wasn't anyone around. However, the glass in the store ended up showing that there was even more people around that he didn't see the first time around.

"So, what's life in Inkopolis like so far?" Callie asked him, waving at a few inklings around them.

Zack tried to make a coherent answer, however all that came out were fragments of words.

 _BZZT!_ Callie's earpiece buzzed _. "Too much, Callie!"_ Marie said from her end through the microphone. " _Too many people! He's getting too nervous!"_

Callie made it look like she was scratching her ear as she whispered. "On it…" She moved her hand down. "Hey Zack, wanna come inside the store with me right quick? I wanna pick up a new top for Turf War! They finally have it in stock!"

"S-sure…" Zack replied, desperately wanting to get off the street.

Callie then quickly brought him inside the store where, thankfully, only a couple of inklings were browsing the shirts.

Jelfonzo, who was helping another customer at the time, just gave them a slight wave, not realizing who just walked in.

"So, Zack…" Callie started as she grabbed a White Anchor Tee and made sure it was the right size before continuing to look through the racks of clothing. "You didn't answer my question." She reminded him politely.

"H-huh? Oh. Sorry. Um… Oh yeah! I… Can't say for certain, seeing as how this is the first I've seen of the city so far." His now cracking voice was slowly going back to normal.

Marie started taking down notes of both the questions and answers that were said between the two.

Callie nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Y'know, I'm not from a city either. I'm from a small county west of here. Me and my sister. Gramps too."

"Really? That's nice. I really hope I can meet your grandpa one day, he sounds like an amazing man based off what you told me earlier today." He shot her a warm smile as he started looking around the store as well.

But then, it happened. A massive flood of inklings piled through the double doors of the store. It didn't take long until Zack and Callie found out what was happening. "THERE IT IS!" One of them shouted and they all crowded around Zack, even pushing Callie to the side so they could get around him entirely.

Then, the barrage of questions started. "Where are you from!? Is it true that the ancients were gods!? Can I have a picture!? Is this real!? Where have you been!?..." And they kept coming.

Zack was starting to sweat. His nervousness around new people was put on terrible display for what felt like all of inkopolis to him. This is what his worst nightmares were like.

Jelfonzo, however, was having the time of his life. Never had this many people been in the store at once, even though he's the co-owner of the leading branch of clothing stores known to sea creatures.

Callie had enough of it, seeing the horror grow on Zack's face. "HEY! HEEEEYY!" She cried out. "I SEE PEARL AND MARINA WALKING DOWN THE STREET!"

Her attempt failed, seeing as how not a soul moved an inch towards the door.

"Marie! What do I do!?" Callie whispered into her earpiece, desperately calling out for some advice. "The crowd is mobbing Zack just like how they mob us! And just like those mobs, nothing will distract them!"

" _Ugh. Damnit! Should've known this would happen. Well, if all else fails, do you have your N-Zap '85 on you?_ " Marie asked, deep in thought as to what Callie could do.

"I'm not about to start shooting them!" She whispered back. "... But yes…"

" _Well, if we can't think of anything, pull it out and start shooting the floor and walls. Make 'em run._ " Marie suggested.

"I… Don't feel like being arrested today, Marie." Callie replied, reluctance and astonishment in her voice over the thought that Marie could think of her doing something like that. "Wait a minute I got an idea."

" _Really? What is it?_ " Marie questioned.

"This." Callie just dove into the crowd, knocking a few people over. After turning into a squid, she swam through the maze of legs and, after almost being trampled many times, made it to where Zack was. She went back into her humanoid form and pushed Zack in the same place she came from.

The inklings, not wanting to be crushed, moved out of the way. This allowed Zack and Callie to escape.

" _Wow! That worked!?_ " Marie asked with her hands on her head in disbelief.

"Okay, Zack, you can run faster since you're an ancient, sooo…" She turned into a squid and jumped into his hood. "Run to the park!"

Zack nodded. "T-t-tell me where t-to go!"

After awhile of leading him around Inkopolis, they eventually came to the park. When they got there, they sat down and sighed. "Welp… That was something…" Callie said.

"N-no kidding." Zach replied, still visibly shaken up from being mobbed by so many people.

Meanwhile, as the duo started to have small talk in the park, Octavia was deviously working on her laptop like a nutjob. Then, her insane typing stopped as she started reading. "Order 5-6-7-7 was given today…" She skimmed through some more text. "All Octoshots in queue replaced with the bugs... " Her finger went across her screen until it stopped on a single line. "Production expected to be completed within 24 hours…"

After reading everything she did, she sat back in her seat in astonishment. "That crazy old man…. He's actually forcing the workers in the factory to work 24 hours straight… He's crazy… However... That speed could be beneficial to me." She smirked. "Now, the hard part…" She went back to typing. "If I could get into the server, I could gain access to some of the bugs, however I'm only gonna take three, as not to be noticed." She recited her plan to herself as she pulled up her virtual corkboard.

She took a look at the pictures she had. She had Marina's photo posted with her personal info as well as her use, which was 'Engineer/Scientist', next to Zack was 'Classified/Combat', and next to Chance was 'Scientist/Combat'. She took a deep breath before stretching. "Time to-"

A loud knock came from her door. "Princess Octavia?"

Octavia quickly shut her laptop. "Come in!" She snapped.

A woman walked in. "The king has ordered me to bring you down to the dinning hall for dinner." She explained.

Octavia growled quietly. "Tell him I'm not hungry!"

"He told me to bring you down even if you're full, your highness." The woman replied.

Octavia, realizing her father was not in a position to compromise in any way, just sighed and stood up. "Get out of my room. I'm on my way." She started storming over to the door as the woman did as she was told and ran.

Octavia soon followed as she exited the room and slammed the door so hard behind her that she almost broke the door, still unprepared to face her father face-to-face.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8:_

The atmosphere at the dinner table when Octavia sat down at the other end of the table from her grandfather was tense, like a bow being pulled back to its limit. And just like that bow, everyone around them expected it to fire at any minute.

Neither one of them made eye contact with one another. Or anyone for that matter.

The servants then came out with dinner trays on each arm. "You're going to love this absolutely stunning dish your chefs made you both today, your majesty and your highness." One of them started. "Today we have-"

"Just put the food on the table already…" Octavia cut her off. "Every time we come down here, I don't even know what you say half of the ti-"

"OCTAVIA!" Octavio cut in with his booming voice. Just as he was about to scold her on what she said, he sighed and decided to just let it slide.

The servants then placed their meals on the table and left the room as Octavia commanded.

When he was sure that they were gone, Octavio fixed his posture and focused towards Octavia. "Octavia… I know what you're doing in your room…"

"I'm not doing splat, gramps…" Octavia replied as she took a few bites.

"... So the microphones are lying?" Octavio asked with a serious look on his face.

Octavia froze. "The WHAT!?" She hit the table, knocking an unlit candle over. "YOU PUT THINGS IN MY ROOM, MY SECRET PLACE, AND LET SOME RANDOM-"

"Octavia! Octavia!" Octavio put his tentacle out towards her to signal her to be quiet. "I would never put a microphone in your room! That was a test… You failed… now I have every reason to believe you're hiding something from me."

"Sly bugger…" She muttered under her cold, harsh breath. Then, she looked down at her knife on the table. **One quick motion, Octavia! Do it!** Something told her. **Pick it up and throw it at him! DO IT!**

"But I'll make you a deal…" Octavio cut off the demons in her head, still not touching his food once. "You tell me everything you're up to up there… And I'll ignore it all." He then started to smile in an attempt to make her feel comfortable and happy.

Octavia, however, was no stranger to her grandfather's tricks. So she just looked at him in a skeptical way before finally starting to eat. However, she muttered something under her breath that Octavio caught.

"What was that!?" He snapped at her.

"Nothing, gramps…" Octavia replied in an annoyed tone.

"Say it, Octavia!" Octavio demanded, now starting to get agitated beyond what he thought was possible and he could feel the stress starting to turn his tentacles gray.

Octavia slammed her knife into the table, causing the entire blade to enter into the fine, and expensive, wood of the table as she propelled herself upwards. "NO WONDER MOM DIDN'T LIKE YOU!"

Octavio was outraged. He knew Octavia had her moments with him, but usually the topic of Octavia's parents started the 'cool down process' between the two as they started to make amends. However Octavia's blood red face didn't show any signs of remorse whatsoever. Octavio took a deep breath. "Octavia… I'm gonna say this nicely once… Don't you DARE bring your mother-"

"ADMIT IT, GRAMPS!" She cut him off. "YOU'RE THE REASON WHY SHE AND DAD ARE DEAD, ISN'T IT!? THAT STUPID PLAN OF YOURS THAT LOST ABOUT A DOZEN INNOCENT LIVES TO THREE PEOPLE BUT YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANY OF THEM! MOM AND DAD WERE JUST SOME OF THE CASUALTIES HUH!?" Octavia, clearly flustered, started shaking a bit as her anger started to take over.

Octavio kept a stern face that was as sturdy and still as a wall of bricks. But the wall was crumbling from the inside as he remembered what happened two years ago.

In his flashback, he remembered everything with so much detail…

He sat in his snowglobe outside of Cuttlefish's original shack as a team of twenty or so elite octolings who super jumped there to an Octo Beacon set by a spy who infiltrated the base earlier that day. He put his tentacle up to his mouth and let out a quiet "Shhh" and pointed to Agent One, who was fast asleep on the couch. Cuttlefish left Callie in charge of watching Octavio, however she fell asleep on the job… Or so he thought.

As the octolings freed him, Callie did something; however Octavio has no idea what she did since he couldn't get a very clear view of her from the angle he was at, and alerted all the agents that a breakout was in progress.

But Octavio and the octolings, being none the wiser, got an idea after Octavio was released and reunited with his daughter and son-in-law, giving hugs to both of them. Their focus turned to Callie.

Octavio made a few hand gestures and Octavia's father, as well as three other octolings, got in front of her. Just as they were about to take her away from Marie and turn her into an Octo-supporter, her eyes jolted open and she doused them all with one swift movement from her roller that she had hidden under the couch.

All of them were splatted instantly. Including Octavia's father.

Seeing as how Callie was now weaponless having left her ink tank inside, they thought now would be the time to strike and just as they aimed at her, Marie practically kicked the manhole cover open as she and Agent Three jumped out, guns blazing.

Seeing his numbers take a dip, Octavio decided to order for the octolings to form a shield around him using their own bodies. They then started to move. One by one, Marie started picking them off while five stayed behind to keep Agent Three busy.

Octavio was so close now. If he could just make his way to the end of the platform, he would be able to super jump to the other Octo Beacon that was left there so Octavio could get back to Octo Valley. However, he noticed something. He only had four people left to guard him. All of the other octolings were wiped out. But most importantly to him, his back was exposed and Marie had a clear shot of him.

She didn't hesitate as she was visually done with Octavio at this point. This was his second time escaping, the first time was when he captured Cuttlefish again, and now that he just tried to take Callie for the first time. Even Octavio could see that deep down, Marie knew it would be too much trouble imprisoning him inside of the snowglobe. She looked down her sights and aimed square at Octavio.

Then, without any remorse at the time, Octavio grabbed Octavia's mother, his own daughter, by the belt and swung her around so that she was between him and Marie.

Marie had fired the shot before she realized what Octavio was doing and hit Octavia's mother with a direct hit. Even she was visually shocked that Octavio would stoop so low as to purposely put someone in his place just to live. However, no one had any time to think as Octavio started gathering ink and shot off towards the beacon and away from the agents.

Now, back at the dinner table, Octavio just stared at the unlit candle for a moment before shaking his head and standing up next to Octavia. "You know what….? Fine. You'll get your three bugs… Just don't talk to me until they launch…" He stormed out of the room, leaving an untouched plate of food behind him.

Octavia giggled like a little girl quietly to herself. **And that is how to get what you want from him.** She mentally said to herself before happily skipping into the front of the house and walked over to her personal chauffeur. "Hop in. We're going to the science lab."

She opened the door and was about to step in when her chauffeur cut in. "Um… With all due respect, your highness, I don't know my way to this-"

"I'll tell ya where to turn. Just get in." She hopped in and laid back yet in a way that allowed her to see out all the windows.

The chauffeur sighed before getting in and starting the engine and pulling out and away from the mansion. Leaving Octavio in the window, watching the vehicle disappear behind the trees.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9:_

The very next day, everyone sat in wait as Octavio counted down. "3… 2… 1… FIRE!" As the words left his mouth, millions of tiny bugs were released into the air as all of the scientists and tech gurus started controlling the bugs' movements.

Octavia, however, sat in a corner. She had her own little computer set up just for this mission. But no matter how bad of a pilot she was, she had a goal. She had to get three targets on her side. She even had three of their pictures taped to the wall to remind her who her targets were. A deep breath was needed before she took control.

Meanwhile, Zack and Callie were on another walk. Marie had yet another test for him that he didn't know about. This time, she was gonna see how he reacts in a dire situation, since he acted like a frightened pidgeon when he was surrounded by people, and she wanted to see if this carried over. If it did, he was practically useless to them.

They had, in their eyes, an amazing plan. Zack and Callie would be walking through the park when a 'stranger' would come out and attempt to attack Callie by putting her in a choke hold, then Zack would have to fight him back before Callie 'freed herself' from his grasp. It was all set.

When they were in position, Marie gave the man the cue and he came out from his bush and wrapped his arm around Callie's neck, but not harming her in any way. She played a convincing role when she started to fake gasping for air and begging Zack to save her.

Callie could see him calmly walk over before all of a sudden, just like a pencil was snapped, he just bolted behind the man and started hitting him in every place he could reach, accidentally knocking both him AND Callie to the ground. Eventually, it got so bad that Callie and Marie were worried that Zack was about to commit murder.

"ZACK! ZACK!" Callie called out. "STOP! IT WAS A TEST! IT WAS A TEST!" She was easily able to break the man's nonexistent grasp and started pulling on his shirt. "STOP ATTACKING HIM!" She begged. "PLEASE!"

He then shook his head before pushing the man into the ground. "... A test?" He asked. "What do you mean a test?"

Callie sighed as she was forced to come clean as she took off her now destroyed headset. It made some weird noises but she just threw it to the ground and looked at him.. "Look, Agent 2 wanted to know how you would react in a situation like this… So she hired this guy to…. Wait a minute…" Her attention then turned behind Zack, into the sky. "What on Earth is that!?"

Above them was a giant cloud of the bugs that the Octarians were controlling. They started to descend upon Inkopolis. Octavia, however, was grinning behind her computer screen. "Heeeey Zack…." She said to herself as she brought three of her bugs down towards him. However, just before she was about to go inside of Zach's ear using one of the bugs, he moved away at the last second, and she landed inside of Callie's ear. "NOOOO! DAMN YOU! GET OUT! GET OUUUUT!" She hit the desk. It was too late, the bug was already latched in place.

Not wanting to waste another moment, she was finally able to get a bug into Zach's ear. "THANK COD!" She said to herself. "Now… unfortunately, those blasted agents have a forcefield setup, maybe it's the floating platforms, I dunno. But something is not allowing me to get to Chance." She said to herself, going over her plan yet again before she changed course. "But no matter! He'll be with me soon enough…"

As people outside started to come under the influence of the bugs, Pearl and Marina were watching from their studio. Pearl was in shock. She had absolutely no idea what was happening.

Marina, however, knew all too well. She could tell just by the movements of the inklings. Once moment they were holding their heads, the next they were laid out flat on the hard pavement. Her gaze then turned to her headphones, which were around her neck.

She knew that they were doomed to the same fate… Unless… "Pearlie…" Marina spoke. "I need your 100% honesty here." She looked her dead in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Pearl looked back at her, confused out of her mind. "What kind of que-"

Marina cut her off. "JUST ANSWER ME, PEARL!"

Pearl jumped, not used to hearing Marina snap like that. "O-of course, Marina! But… Why do you say that?"

Marina ripped her headphones off and placed them over Pearl's ears. "When I hit your arm, you turn into a squid. You got me!?" She then gasped. She didn't want to show it, but she could feel the bug enter her ear. It instantly started taking effect on her.

The second Pearl nodded, Marina turned on Calamari Inkantation, put it up on full blast, grabbed her arm, and ran. She practically kicked the front door open as her vision started to blur and her legs felt weak. But she had a mission. She was not about to let Pearl become another mindless zombie. She didn't want Pearl to be in the same situation she was in just a year prior. "C-c'mon, Pearlie! We're almost there!" She started pushing towards the sewer entrance. "Almost… There…"

Pearl took notice of how sluggish Marina was looking. "MARINA!" She shouted over the music. "WHAT IN COD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING!?"

Marina just ignored her. Her willpower was as strong as steel, but the bug started to take over more and more. But her motor function was starting to become non-existent. To her luck, they made it to the sewer opening and she hit Pearl on the arm.

Pearl reluctantly did as she was told and turned into a squid, landing in Marina's arms.

Marina weakly threw both Pearl and her own octophone down into the sewer. Then, looking for something to cover the hole with, she noticed the red thing people used to draw their pictures for splatfest with. She got behind it and rammed into it a few times, knocking it over onto the manhole cover and blocking it off.

Marina, now finished with her mission, then collapsed to the ground. The bug had now taken full control of her and she blacked out.

When Marina hit the ground, a sadistic, twisted grin grew on Octavia's face. "Welcome home… Friend…" She then started laughing insanely, making other scientists want to look at her, but they all knew that if they even looked at her out of the corner of their eye, she'd have them splatted in an instant.

But while Octavia was having her celebration, Pearl was in the sewer, trying to get the manhole cover open. "MARINA!" She screamed from the other side, hitting it with everything she got. "REMOVE WHATEVER YOU GOT BLOCKING IT! I'M COMING BACK U- MMPH!?"

A figure had come up from behind her and kept her quiet. "Shh!" The voice sharply spoke. "Don't let them hear you! I don't wanna have to fight random inklings too! The octolings were bad enough…"

Pearl paused for a moment. She recognized that voice from when she and Marina followed Marie that time. They asked her to help her out with her Agent duties and they officially became Agents 5 and 6. Because of this, she knew it was Agent 4. "Ehh-mm-oor?"

Agent 4 nodded. "Yes. It's me." She then let go of her and turned her around so that she was facing her. "Listen. I know you don't trust me as much as Agent 3, or maybe more, I dunno. But just follow me, okay?"

Pearl, having no other option, agreed to her request and followed her every move exactly how she did. "So… What happened out there?"

Agent 4 shook her head. "No idea for sure, but we're almost certain Octavio is behind it." She took a left into a different section of the sewer.

Pearl sighed. "You people still haven't dealt with him yet?"

"We're trying. But no matter what, he always slips away." Agent 4 explained as they came to the end of the sewer. "But anyways, now that you're down here, we need your help… Again."

Pearl nodded. "If it means getting Marina back, I'll happily help you."

Agent 4 gave her a thumbs up. "Great. I knew you'd help. Now c'mon, everyone is waiting for you."

The two then exited the sewer and back onto the platform. The last time Pearl was standing there was when she and Marina were staring down Octavio, who was trapped inside of his little globe. But right now, that just seemed like a good time she had with Marina, even if the conversation between them and Octavio wasn't very pretty.

But she couldn't think about little things from the past. She had a mission to do, as an agent and as a friend. She had to get Marina out of Octo Valley again. No matter the cost.


End file.
